A SIM (e.g., uSIM, cSIM, iSIM) is a factory provisioned application on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) that is typically referred to in the art as a SIM card. A user may insert a SIM card into user equipment (UE) in order to identify the user in a service provider's network.
Dynamically provisioning a SIM application over a secure network has been attempted with limited success. Problems with such a process include legacy support, UICC credentials ownership, and migration between cellular service providers. Additionally, SIM card manufacturers would also lose business if SIM applications were provisioned over the air when the UE was used in a different cellular network instead of the user inserting a new SIM card.
There are general needs for improved methods for provisioning SIM application credentials over the air.